Inesin reminds everyone that even the most advanced incubation technology is only but one of the many aspects that contribute to

good hatching. Among the better indicators of a well-run gamefowl

operation is its chick hatching rate. A high hatching rate will ab- sorb deficiencies in other areas such as low survival rate. No wonder the hatchery is one of the more important facilities in gamefowl breeding farms. Thus, not only that in-depth knowl- edge of the incubation process of chicken eggs is of utmost im- portance, an efficient hatchery set—setters, hatchers, and egg keepers—is always a must investment for serious gamefowl breeders.

Breeders are fortu-

nate now that there are a number of reliable incubator makers in the country, quite unlike in the past when most incubators were imported and thus very expensive. One such maker is the GLI incu- bators, owned by Gilbert Lubaton Inesin. Based in Cebu, GLI also serves clients outside Cebu, particularly in Negros, Iloilo and lately Metro Manila. GLI Incubators that

started commercial opera- tions in 2001 has sold models to well-known breeders such as NFGB president Ricoy Palmares, Jesry Palmares, Joey Lacson, Nonong Faber, Raffy Yulo and many others. What started as hobby in 1994 is now a full-scale com-

mercial operations with production capacity of 100 units per month. Still GLI is hard-pressed to cope with orders. One pend- ing offer alone from a large agrivet chain to sell GLI units in all its branches nationwide is enough to gobble up all of GLI’s monthly production. Gilbert is thinking of first putting up addi- tional factories in Cebu and Manila before he could consider the offer.

GLI units, designed by the owner himself, include auto-

matic and semi automatic models with egg capacity of 110 set- ter/80 hatcher, the smallest to giant ones that could set and hatch thousands of eggs. GLI also has models with digital instruments to measure temperature and humidity. His best sellers are the well-tested and very reliable

ASH 220, an automatic 120-egg setter and 100-egg hatcher in one compartment; and the 2-in-1 models with setter and hatcher in separate compartments, each of which has its own heating mechanism. The most popular among 2-in-1 models are the 240 setter/160 hatcher and the 480 setter/220 hatcher auto-tilting units. These are the units favored by many Cebu breeders. GLI’s first models were the automatic tilting type com-

mon to many automatic setters manufactured by other companies. However, GLI which is closely collaborating with RB Sugbo Gamefowl Technology since 2007 has of lately come up with automatic roll-type setters which RB Sugbo technicians call “Virtual Hen” models. Unlike the usual tilting type that sets eggs vertically, the

“Virtual Hen” sets eggs horizontally, much like in natural egg nests, thus the monicker. The latest “Virtual Hen” models which at present are being tested at the RB Sugbo hatcheries have aver- aged 94% hatching rate, right at the on- set of the 2010-2011 mating season. RB Sugbo technicians conceded that the 94% hatching rate is so far the highest attained by any RB Sugbo hatchery. Mico Ba-

RB Sugbo hatchery is exclusively by LGI.

jenting who man- ages RB Sugbo op- erations in Cebu said it is still too early to tell if the horizontal setting of eggs has some advantage over the vertical set-

ting but one thing he noted, aside from high hatchability, was the shorter time lapse from the first egg hatched to the last. One batch of 264 eggs set a company record chick-breakthrough speed of less than 12 hours. The first chick saw daylight at 7 am and the 247th chick, the last that hatched, broke through a little past 6pm of the same day. “Sure there were other factors such as egg care, egg se-

lection or genetics because all the 264 eggs came from only four yards all of which were of the same Sugbo lemon bloodlines from this year’s harvest, but we were also considering the fact that the horizontal position of eggs is the more natural,” Mico said. “The shape of the egg indicates that eggs are not meant to stand.” He added.